Lake Mary Prep, Lake Brantley bridge gap

THIS WEEK'S BEST EVENTS

The Griffins, the top team in 1A all season, host the Patriots, one of the top teams in 6A.

January 18, 2007|By Buddy Collings, Sentinel Staff Writer

It's the biggest regular season game ever for Lake Mary Prep, and students haven't let the players forget it.

Talk of Saturday night's boys basketball showdown between the Class 1A Griffins and Class 6A Lake Brantley has bounced around the school's hallways for weeks. The buzz got bigger when Lake Brantley moved to No. 1 in the 6A state poll before the holidays.

The Patriots were 15-2 and ranked No. 5 in this week's poll. Lake Mary Prep has been No. 1 in 1A all season.

"The trash talk just goes back and forth," said LMP center Shamar Marston. "Not from us, we've tried to stay humble. It's the students."

Mike Cuff, Lake Brantley's coach, said he knows the Griffins are good.

"They're a well-coached, fundamentally sound team, and they shoot the heck out of the ball," Cuff said.

LMP averages over 80 points per game with Marston, Stafford, Bryan Benefiel, Billy Pratsch and Michael Moradian all averaging from 10 to 16 ppg.

Lake Brantley hasn't scored as much, but is every bit as balanced with a lineup of guys averaging just under 10 ppg.

D.J. Hicks, a 6-foot-5 junior, is averaging almost a double-double in points and rebounds for the Patriots.

The hype is huge. The setting is small. LMP added permanent bleachers on the south wall and spots to its stage this season to bump seating capactiy close to 500. Projections call for a sellout sometime during the boys J.V. game (5 p.m.). It's first-come, first-served.

"We know it's going to be crazy," Brantley junior Mitch McGrath said. "People don't realize how different gyms make a difference. You can feel people breathing all down your neck in gyms like that."

Matt Benefiel, Lake Mary Prep's coach, is pleased the Patriots agreed to make the short road trip

"It's a fun high-school environment here," Benefiel said. "But scheduling games outside our district was a challenge. I really wanted to bring in a couple of big-time games. I'm very appreciative that Lake Brantley agreed to play us, and agreed to come to our place. I know they didn't have to do that. They're obviously a very, very good team. We would have gone there."

It helped in negotiations that Cuff has nieces who attend LMP.

Cuff said other public-school coaches have called him crazy for scheduling the Griffins.

"People are going to say it's one of those, `Everything to lose, nothing to win' deals for us," Cuff said. "But I think it's going to be good preparation for the playoffs.

"From what I've heard, the fans are going to be right on top of you and they really get into the game."